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Italic: Thought

Bold: Elvish

Italic and Bold: Thoughts in Elfish

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14. Warg riders.

The next morning Ginny was woken not by her own cries or screams but by a soft shake from Aragorn's hand. She was utterly surprised that she had slept without nightmares. Especially with the reality of another battle coming up she would have expected het mind to totally make her sleep misery. Instead now, she felt rested, alert and relaxed.

"Good morning." She said still a bit sleepy as she sat up.

She looked around her to see that Legolas and Gimli were gone. Aragorn was already packing.

"I overslept." She groaned.

"No, milady. Look, the others are just starting to wake up. Legolas, Gimli and I are just used to getting up with the sun." Aragorn said calmly as he gave her an apple.

"Why didn't you wake me up when you all got up?" She asked.

"Legolas told me that you were sleeping without nightmares for the first time since we met you. As you need your strength the coming days I thought it was better to let you rest a bit more." Aragorn explained. When he was done packing he sat down next to her. "Legolas told me about that you want to fight with us at Helm's Deep."

"Yes, I think I can make myself very useful there." Ginny said calmly. She had expected the men to be against it. It was clear that in this world women were still seen as not capable to fight.

"While I think that is true, I'm worried." He told her. His eyes did show that he was worried but she doubted that all those worries were for her. "Do you really think it is wise to get involved in a war again? You are still in so much pain from your last battle. I'm worried what another battle will do to you."

Ginny looked at him, his words were true and heartfelt. She was really touched by his concern for her.

"I have lost everything not more than a week ago. It hurts like crazy. I can't even breathe without feeling the hole in my heart but I can't sit back and watch innocent people die any more than you can. If I can make sure that those kids survive, I will."

"That's a very honorable idea, Ginny but what about you?" he pressed, noticing she had tried to avoid getting to close to her.

"I don't know. Nothing I'll see here on a battlefield can be more horrible than what I have seen back home. There is nothing worse than seeing the death eyes of your mother staring up at you. So you don't have to worry about my innocent eyes." Ginny chuckled, earning herself a glare from Aragorn. She shrugged with a sigh. "Aragorn, I don't know yet. Maybe it is possible for me to be happy again, here in this strange world. Maybe I'll die and be happy returning to the ones I love. Right now I have two options, fight or stand back and watch others die. I can't do the later, so I'll fight."

Aragorn nodded and took her hand in his and squeezed it.

"I know what it means to loose everything. I don't have close family left and the one I truly love will leave for lands I cannot. You should know that I think you are strong and that your loved ones would be really proud of you. You are fighting through the heartache and you are doing really well." He said. Before she could say thanks or glare at him he got up and took up his sword. He turned around and looked at her. "Please try to keep the fighting to your magic. I'm not sure if your sword's skills are good enough already."

Ginny gasped and looked at him in mock insult but she didn't fail to notice his playful smirk. He was teasing her but she knew he was right anyway. Still, she itched to send a tickling curse his way but didn't act on it as people around them started to move again.

Later that morning she rode next to Théoden. Aragorn, Gimli and Èowyn were walking next to them. Legolas had gone off to scout the area from the top of the hills that were in front of them.

Everybody was talking to each other and to Ginny it started to feel more like a holiday than a flee from dangerous enemies. So she stayed alert. Constant Vigilance! Her eyes always wandered over the group, the column and to Legolas. Searching for signs of dangers. It was an ingrained habit, a leftover from her last Hogwarts year.

Suddenly there was somebody screaming and Ginny saw Legolas running towards the sound. She looked over to where he was going and saw a horrible big wolf-like creature attacking a rider. Legolas killed the wolf with one arrow but around her chaos erupted. Ginny wasn't sure what to do but considered staying next to the King a good idea.

"A scout!" she heard Legolas yell to Aragorn. Without a second thought Aragorn turned back to the column and ran towards his horse.

"What is it? What do you see?" Théoden asked as the man approached them.

"Warg! We are under attack!" he screamed back.

Panic erupted around them. People started to scream and the fleeing instinct kicked in. Ginny watched as Aragorn jumped on his horse and rode off. He was heading towards Legolas.

"All riders to the head of the column!" Théoden yelled to his troops.

As she watched Ginny noticed a large group of these Wargs racing towards them. The only person between them and these beasts was Legolas. He continued shooting arrows and hitting target. His aim was impressive.

"You must lead the people to Helm's Deep, and make haste." She heard next to her. For a second she thought the king was talking to her but Èowyn was standing between her and the king.

"I can fight!" the woman argued.

"No!" Théoden almost growled. "You must do this...for me."

"I'll help you, Èowyn." Ginny offered. She hadn't thought about it really. She was considering following Théoden and Aragorn but with all the men gone that would leave the really innocent unprotected.

Reluctantly Èowyn nodded and Théoden rode off. For a second both women watch the men ride towards the Wargs. Ginny silently prayed for their lives before turning to Èowyn.

"You take up the front, you know the way, alright?" She asked. "I take the back and protect the people from any stray Wargs."

Èowyn nodded, clearly she was not pleased that she wasn't allowed to fight with the men but if things would go badly they were the only ones left to protect the people.

"Èowyn!" she called after her and the woman turned around. Ginny stopped her horse next to the woman and smiled softly. "We will get our chance to fight, maybe not this fight but there will be more. If things go bad with the men, we will be the only ones left to defend your people."

This made Èowyn look at her with wide eyes and a smile appeared on her face.

"You are right." Lady Ginevra. "Let's get the people to safety."

Ginny nodded and rode off towards the last of the people. Leaving Èowyn to organize the evacuation. Together they led the people away from the loud ongoing battle behind them. Ginny swore she could hear Gimli laughing. At least somebody was happy fighting.

After an hour or so, when the noises had long died away, the people became less scared. The immediate panic had disappeared and everybody hurried to get to the fortress. Now only the soft noise of carts and people talking were heard.

The silence and peace made Ginny nervous and on edge. She kept riding in circles, her wand out and often galloping to scout the area. It felt like the silence before the storm. Even in her toes she could feel the danger coming closer but it wasn't insight.

She had just returned to her post at the end of the column when she heard what she had dreaded. The soft growls of a large dog and the wheezy breathing of a strange creature sounded in the vicinity. She turned around to see that one of the Wargs had indeed escaped from the main attack.

The monster on top of it Ginny concluded was an Orc. It was one of the most horrible humanoid creatures she had ever seen. Even Goblins in her world were prettier than these things.

Behind her children started to wail and she heard people making a run for it and shout in panic. She watched the enemy closely as she listened to Èowyn shouting orders for everybody to make haste towards the fortress. Apparently it wasn't much further.

At the same time the warg noticed them, Ginny saw two young children straying from the column. The Warg immediately moved to attack one of the children. Ginny made her horse step aside to shield the child and glared at the laughing Orc. With her wand pointed at the beast she realized that she could go for the easy kill. Both Orc and Warg weren't covered in complete armor and there was no risk of spells and curses rebounding off the metal.

"You won't stop me, woman!" the Orc hissed.

"Try me." Ginny sneered. It wasn't even hard to imagine killing a creature like this. She had already developed hatred towards it. If it hadn't been because of the horrid stories Legolas had told her about them than out would be by the diminishing and leering way he talked to her or the dark evil feeling that seem to come from it.

The Orc sneered back and turned the full focus of the warg towards her. She raised her wand in a dueling position and prayed to Merlin that the flashes of light wouldn't spook the horse. The Orc didn't need it to be told twice and urged the warg to attack.

"Perstrepo" Ginny shouted as she brought down her wand. The strong blasting curse hit the wolf like creature right in the flank and the animal was blasted at least twenty feet backwards, landing on top of his rider.

The horse wasn't spooked by the curse but bristled as if it wasn't too happy not to participate in the fighting. Still without any fuss he brought Ginny closer to the whining dog as it exhaled it's last breath. With his lower body trapped by the Warg the Orc couldn't do much to her. Yet, she knew she had to kill it for her own safety. He had seen her do magic and could betray her to his master.

She looked at the horrid creature from her horse. Could she do it?

It's an unforgivable curse! Something inside her argued. Yeah, back home. Not here, here it is kill or being killed. You would have done it with a sword. The killing curse is kinder. The next voice argued. Ginny couldn't help but agree with the later.

She raised her wand again and closed her eyes for a second. Knowing how to accomplish the curse she brought up her hatred for Tom Riddle. The boy that invaded her mind, tortured her and was the cause of her current pain. She hated him intensely enough.

Her eyes snapped open and even the Orc flinched as he saw the hatred in her eyes.

"Avada Kedavra!" She spoke and with a gut wrenching flash of green light the Orc was killed.

Not being able to watch what her wand had done but knowing it had hit its target she turned her horse around and made it back to the column. She used the time to regain her footing and settle. Using such a powerful curse did things to her body and her core that needed to be controlled before getting close to the others. The way the Orc had flinched indicated that the look she had in her eyes wasn't very comforting. She didn't want to make the people more scared than they already were.

She caught up with the column quite quickly and noticed that they had calmed down but moving at a quicker pace. She gave a wave to Èowyn to let her know that she was okay and taking up the defensive position again.

For the rest of the way she tried hard to ignore the whispers. People were in awe of her and scared of her at the same time. A few of them had seen what she could do with a flick of her wrist and the word had spread through the column quickly. People whispered about 'the witch' and the dangerous things she could do.

For the bigger part of the ride Ginny hated herself. Once the rush of the magic had settled she realized that she had killed by using the killing curse. Yes she had killed during the battle and she knew this was no different but this was the first time she had done it consciously. It the first time she had ever used the killing curse and that was making it very different. It made her feel sick. She had sunk almost as low as the next Death Eater. The only difference that made her feel a bit better was that she had done in it an act of protecting herself and the people of Rohan. It hadn't been mindless murdering for fun.

"Are you alright milady?" Someone next to asked her. She looked down to see a young boy, not older than twelve looking up at her. He didn't look scared of her. "You look sick."

"I will be alright." She said to him, knowing it was the truth. Eventually this would also be only a bad memory.

"Do you need help, milady?" He asked kindly.

"No thank you. I'll be alright."

"Okay. I wanted to thank you for saving my little brother." The boy said. Ginny looked down at him again and stopped her horse. She got off so she could walk next to the boy.

"Was he the little child that the Warg aimed for?"

"Yes, Hameth." The boy nodded. "You saved him, milady. You saved a lot of people with your magic."

"It scared a lot of people as well." Ginny muttered.

"Don't let that bother you, milady. The warg would have attacked everybody. It's just that the adults had not seen much good coming from magic, since the White wizard betrayed us. We all have real reasons to be distrusting of magic." The boy said smartly. He sounded a lot older than he was.

"You don't seem scared of it." Ginny commented. "Or scared of me."

"You are a friend of the king. He even gifted you with a horse from his stables. We must trust the king to make trustworthy friends. And you saved my brother. Besides I do not believe I should fear such a fair lady, not even if she is an Istar." He said with a blush. Ginny laughed out loud and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm really flattered that you think that." She said to the boy in all honesty. "Though you must remember that the most fairest are usually the most dangerous. You can't judge on looks alone." The boy looked thoughtful of a second and nodded. Still he didn't seemed to fear her, he just walked next to her with a confident sway. It seemed like she had gained a new friend. "What is your name?"

"I'm Haleth, son of Háma, milady." He said.

"Háma? Isn't that one of the King's personal escorts?"

"Yes, my dad serves the king. He is really brave but I fear he has died. He was the scout the Warg attacked." He said sadly. Ginny was struck by his sadness. She felt sorry for him but knew that he shouldn't loose hope yet.

"Don't loose hope, Haleth, son of Háma. Your dad might still survive."

"Do you think so?"

"I have seen people escape death many times." She answered.

A sudden call from the front of the column interrupted their conversation.

"Helm's Deep!" somebody called. Ginny looked up to see a massive fortress. It was cut out from the mountainside. She finally understood why Théoden had decided to take refuge here. It was easily defendable, it's massive wall protecting the people inside.

"I should go to my mother." Haleth said and with a small bow he left Ginny's side.

While the people of Rohan entered the fortress, Ginny kept watch outside. Her horse paced in slow round as she made sure all the people got safely inside the walls of the fortress. Half an hour later she entered the fortress. Èowyn was walking next to her. The woman was unusually silent.

"They will return, Èowyn." She said. Ginny too worried about her friends but she trusted their abilities.

"That Warg slipped past them, how do we know that they are still alive?" Èowyn sounded desperate.

"We have to trust them. My gut tells me they will return, we have to keep faith." Ginny said. "But we should prepare for the wounded."

Èowyn looked at her like she desperately wanted to believe her. For a second she showed weakness as a tear of fear left her eyes. Ginny placed her hand on the woman's shoulder and squeezed it softly as a sign of support. Èowyn smiled at her and nodded.

"Yes." She sighed. "Yes, your are right. I need to be strong and have faith." Ginny saw the strong woman, the shield maiden return. Her back straightened and she stood taller. "Do you think you can help the wounded with your magic?"

"I think I can, as long as they trust me." Ginny answered. She remembered all the healing spells she had learned over the last year. Not out of interest but pure necessity as the Carrow's hadn't been kind in their punishments. The spells she knew would heal cuts, broken bones and deep wounds.

"They will trust you, Lady Ginevra. Don't worry about that. Come on I'll show you the infirmary and introduce you to our healers."

Èowyn showed her a large room just off the king's quarters that functioned as an infirmary. The supplies were few and the room was damp and dark. Ginny wondered how many people would really recover here. It wasn't the healthiest of places. No crisp and clean sheets like at Hogwarts and no fresh air to heal.

Two young women met them at the door. Both introduced themselves as healers in training. Yet their teacher hadn't arrived in Helm's Deep yet. An older man introduced himself as a scholar with extensive medical knowledge.

Èowyn took a short time to explain to them who Ginny was and that her magic could be of great assistance if they let her. Happy to receive a helping hand they all agreed and the old man immediately started to shoot questions at her about her knowledge of healing.

After a short discussion about medical knowledge and the possible injuries that would be coming in Èowyn left them to organize food and water for the coming battle and the refugees. She ordered the healers and scholar to listen to Ginny's orders until she or the king would change those orders.

Immediately after Èowyn had left Ginny told the other's to prepare bandages, salves, herbs and boiled water for the wounded from the Warg attack. While they did that she went through the room like a tornado. Shooting cleaning charm after cleaning charm. After that she opened the windows and let fresh air into the room. By the time she was done it resembled more the Hogwarts infirmary than a dank room.

The wounded arrived rather quickly, indicating that the battle had been short but intense. Ginny had just finished her cleaning spree of the room when they carried the first man in. Many of the wounded were unconscious and covered in deep cuts, bleeding like crazy. Immediately she set to work, starting by the most severely wounded. Though, she had to perform some kind of triage. There were just a few that couldn't be saved. It was painful to admit but by letting two of the most severely wounded go she created time to heal many more.

Ginny worked nonstop to heal all the wounds. She didn't even have time to worry about her companions. She hadn't seen any of them yet but she couldn't linger on it. It was both a relief and a worry that they weren't amongst the wounded. Her magic worked miracles and the other healers were in awe. They watched skin knit itself together in front of their eyes as Ginny muttered the incantations like a soft song.

Deep down Ginny knew that many men wouldn't make it because of the amount of blood they has lost and the fever that would surely take them soon. If only I had my potions book here so I could make the needed potions for them. She mused as she healed one of the less wounded.

On the next cot was a man she knew.

"Háma." She breathed. "Oh Merlin."

The wounds the man had were large, punctures and cuts ran deep, pieces of flesh were ripped loose. He was as pale as a corpse. She felt for a pulse to confirm he was still alive. It was weak an irregular.

Next to her one of the women gasped. Ginny looked up to see the youngest of the healers in training, Eloneth, looking at the wounded royal guard. She looked like she was going to be sick.

"You can leave if you want to." Ginny offered the woman kindly.

"No, I'll assist. It's just, so much blood."

"You better get used to it quickly. I fear you'll have a lot more patients soon."

The woman nodded and sat down on the other side of the cot.

"Can you heal him?"

"I can try." Ginny shrugged. Knowing that without a blood replenishing potions she wouldn't have much success. "Héman!" she called for the elder scholar.

"Yes, milady."

"Do you know of any potion or drink to restore the amount blood in a body?" She asked. For a second the old man looked thoughtfully.

"No milady. I know the elves have an extensive knowledge of potions and healing herbs but I do not."

"Do you think there is an book on those healing herbs available in this fortress?"

"No, milady. There are not many books in the fortress. Most of them were destroyed during battles. Besides, there are not many here who can read."

Disappointed Ginny set to work. Together with Eloneth she removed Háma's clothes and cleaned his wounds. She tried healing the deepest wounds first. She wasn't as successful as she hoped. Her skills just weren't good enough. After that she moved to heal his broken bones, two had penetrated the skin and Ginny really worried about infections. Healing bones wasn't easy but at least that spell came easily to her.

She worked not stop for hours, Héman and Eloneth had already left to eat something but Ginny continued, hoping to save the father of her new friend.

"Father?" she suddenly heard behind her. She jumped a bit and turned around to see Haleth standing a few feet behind her. "Is my father alright, milady?"

Ginny didn't answer immediately as she noticed Legolas standing at the other side of the room looking at her. It struck her that even though he looked worried he was stunningly beautiful. Even in the shadows of the room he seemed to glow. She gave him a tired smile before turning to the boy.

"I hope so. I have done all I could. Now you have to pray that his body is strong enough to fight off infections and overcome the blood loss."

"Can you not do more?" the boy pressed harshly. Ginny didn't judge his rash words. The young boy was fighting his tears. She held out her hand to him and when he took it she pulled him in a motherly hug. Just like she wished her mother could have done when her father was killed. Her eyes flashed to Legolas again, he smiled at her and nodded. He just knew what she was thinking.

"I wish I could do more. If I had access to certain books I might be able too but I cannot obtain the books I need. You just have to pray and be strong."

The boy nodded against her shoulder and sighed. He stepped away from her and looked at his dad for a while. Ginny continued muttering healing spells over Háma's body, trying to give his body relieve from the pain.

After a while Haleth left the infirmary and Ginny looked up to see Legolas walking towards her. She let her eyes roam over him to look for any injuries but couldn't find any. She noticed that his face was grim and his eyes weren't as bright as they normally were. Something was wrong she could feel it.

She knew as she met Legolas eyes that something was terribly wrong. Instead of pulling away and shielding herself from any additional hurt she did what she would do for any of her friends. She became more concerned for his well being than for her own.

"What happened?" She asked him. His face fell even more and Ginny saw pure sadness in his beautiful eyes.

"We lost Aragorn." He whispered. Ginny gasped and without thinking she threw her arms around him. She knew from Gandalf's story that Legolas and Aragorn had been long time friends. All she could think of was about how much it would hurt to loose such a close friends. Seeing the pain so clearly in his eyes made her want to hug the elf in comfort.

After a few seconds Legolas wrapped his arms around her and held her closely. It was than that she realized what his words meant. Aragorn had died. 'No' she thought in protest. 'That can't be. No!' She refused to believe that Aragorn was truly lost. Something inside her refused to believe it.